News,Views,Arts

Thursday , December 14, 2017

Shimla’s CCD needs a make-over !

Located on Shimla’s Mall street the popular café coffee day outlet draws a regular stream of visitors every day .

These coffee drinkers are tourists and locals . By virtue of its location and the CCD banner it is easily the best coffee shop in the heart of Shimla , a popular international tourist destination .

But time and neglect has taken a toll on this place , the café needs a lot of changes , repairs and restoration .

As a daily visitor here for years I have noticed the CCD management has done virtually nothing to improve the place .

The tables are chipped , the chairs rickety . The worn out furniture hasn’t been changed for years .

The place doesn’t even have the small luxury of a couch to sink in and enjoy your steaming coffee . There are hard wooden benches in the corners which don’t even have cushions .

The place doesn’t even have an umbrella stand . There is only one electric point where you can run your lap top or tablet , no place even to charge your mobile(no mobile station) .

Until a year ago the café subscribed to a few newspapers and magazines , but the management has stopped these as well—–to save a few pennies I was told .

In fact I have an advice for CCD , any news agent in town would be glad to deliver complimentary copies of leading newspapers and magazines .

The music collection is very limited , in fact it is lousy and forgettable . And playing loud music makes it even worse.

There were a few tables in the veranda area at the entrance , in the open , which many customers liked, particularly tourists as you got the feel of the Mall street where people merrily walk by as you sip your coffee at the edge of the winding street .

Remember the Mall is out of bounds for motor vehicles so it is a very special pahari experience sitting in the lobby as the world goes by but you’re denied this experience as well for the last year or so .

The veranda area is now empty due to the leaking ceiling.

But why hasn’t the leakage from the ceiling been stopped and capped for over a year , nobody seems to be bothered!

Nobody seems to be bothered so long as the place is generating good business .

But if the place is improved it will even do even better and make it a truly memorable experience for visitors , particularly tourists who come here from all over the world.

CCD has a virtual monopoly on the Mall as the Barista outlet shut down nearby a couple of years ago .

Next door there is the popular Raj era huge Indian coffee house , but this isn’t a rival to CCD both places draw different category of customers .

But there is already word in town that Barista, Costa Coffee and the rest of the big coffee brand boys are desperately looking for a place on this fashionable street .

If CCD doesn’t set its house in order here time is slowly running out for this outlet !